Hearing To Review Cloisters Lawsuits

July 3, 1986

DELAND — A hearing Monday before a circuit court judge could affect the future for nearly 100 residents of the financially troubled life-care facility The Cloisters.

The hearing will involve 10 lawsuits seeking $4 million from the developers of The Cloisters. Most suits are from subcontractors, who claim they haven't been paid for construction. Work on the facility stopped last summer.

Circuit Judge Uriel Blount will preside over the hearing, which could result in the suits being consolidated. No awards or final decisions will be made; the hearing is largely administrative.

Clay Henderson, the residents' attorney, said the hearing will have an effect on any legal recourse the residents might seek. He said the hearing will clarify the options residents have because it will chart the course for the contractors' claims.

Residents have decided not to lump their claims in with the developers', Henderson said. He said residents are in a good position because they hold the first mortgage on the property.

The Cloisters was envisioned as a facility that would provide housing and medical care to residents. The eight-story building that was to house the medical and food facilities remains unfinished. The project was investigated by the Department of Insurance, which found that accounting was poor and that administrators spent most of the residents' money, $322,000 of which was to be held in escrow. Residents paid upwards of $50,000 each to live there, in addition to monthly maintenance charges.